CiiAP. IX. FIRST TRIAL WITH CHOPSTICKS. 141 
balanced between the thumb and fore-finger of the right 
hand ; the points are next to be brought carefully 
together, just leaving as much room as will allow the 
coveted morsel to go in between them ; the little bit is 
then to be neatly seized ; but, alas ! in the act of lift- 
ing the hand, one point of the chopstick too often slips 
past the other, and the object of all our hopes drops 
back again into the dish, or perhaps even into another 
dish on the table. Again and again the same operation 
is tried, until the poor novice loses all patience, throws 
down the chopsticks in despair, and seizes a porce- 
lain spoon, with which he is more successful. In cases 
like these the Chinese themselves are very obliging, 
although scarcely in a way agreeable to an Englishman's 
taste. Your Chinese friend, out of kindness and polite- 
ness, when he sees the dilemma in which you are, reaches 
across the table and seizes, with his own chopsticks, 
which have just come out of his mouth, the wished-for 
morsel, and with them lays it on the plate before you. 
In common politeness you must express your gratitude 
and swallow the offering. 
During dinner our host informed us that there were 
about a hundred priests connected with the monastery, 
but that many were always absent on missions to various 
parts of the country. On questioning him as to the 
mode by which the establishment was supported, he 
informed us that a considerable portion of land in the 
vicinity belonged to the temple, and that large sums were 
yearly raised from the sale of bamboos, which are here 
very excellent, and of the branches of trees and brush- 
wood, which are made up in bundles for firewood. A 
